Staying healthy during the height of his career has been a painful process for Artur Beterbiev, but the three-belt light heavyweight champion is promising that he is repaired and prepared for his undisputed title fight against Dmitry Bivol on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

The bout between Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) was originally supposed to take place on June 1, but Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in training.

“I am healthy,” Beterbiev told BoxingScene. “It feels good to be very close and almost there. It’s not a big challenge. It’s normal. Everyone gets some injury. Sometimes you [rehab] well and sometimes you don’t. This time we did well.

“When you have injuries, you do some modifications in training camps. We did some different things, and good things, that are much better now. I feel that I am young. Not like 29, but I am young.”

The 39-year-old Beterbiev has been plagued by injuries in recent years. Four of his previous six fights have been delayed due to health issues.

In January, Beterbiev scored a seventh-round stoppage against Callum Smith, but the fight had originally been postponed because Beterbiev needed dental surgery that led to a bone infection in his jaw.

Before facing Smith, Beterbiev was scheduled to fight Anthony Yarde in January 2023, but that bout was also pushed back after he had surgery to remove damaged tissue from his knee. His mandatory title defense against Adam Deines in March 2021 was similarly delayed twice in 2020, once due to a rib injury and again after contracting COVID-19.

The injury struggles extend further back, with Beterbiev undergoing right shoulder surgery in 2015, and suffering a severe forehead cut in a brutal fight against Marcus Browne in December 2021.

The slight betting underdog Beterbiev will need to bring his A-game to beat Beterbiev.

“We’ll see [why Bivol is the best opponent I’ve ever faced]. We never know who’s the best. We’ll know after the fight,” said Beterbiev. “He has great experience and is a good boxer. He’s a good challenge for me. We’re prepared for different things and different scenarios in this fight. We are always trying to be ready 100 per cent. I’m not worried about [critics]. I’m only worried about my fight. And I try to do that only.

“I never make predictions for a fight. I’m a simple boxer who tries to do my best. We’re always prepared for 12 rounds. We do the maximum. Yes, we’ll see [if the knockout comes]. We’re not focused on a knockout. If it happens, it happens.”

Beterbiev turns 40 in January. As rivals claim that his best days are behind him, the Montreal-based Russian insists retirement is not near.

“We’ll see. I can’t say. If there are no injuries and I am good, I will continue, no problem. I enjoy doing this work,” said Beterbiev.

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine and more. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association.